I knew that I was wading into instant drama when I wrote and submitted my post-‘verdict’ Trayvon Martin column. I had written of race issues before as a Briefing columnist, and as a Black woman who’s lived in the South for most of her life, I was certainly aware that the status quo of “white being dominant and right” is one that many people encourage and are comfortable with.

Since I got so many asinine, inflammatory and eltist/arrogant responses, I’ll spare your eyes and blood pressure by including only paragraphs from each one. Some learned after one reply, some argued so much back and forth that I just blocked their @$$es. Ready? Heeeeeeere we go (first names are real, last names omitted…..

FROM PHIL: “The truth is that Travon was on his way to a life of crime. he had already been caught with a bag of stolen jewelry (rings, earrings and at least one watch and a burglar tool) and of course he was a dope-head. His postings were full of talk about fighting and he had punched a bus driver in the face for wanting him to pay to ride on the bus and this was just a few days before he jumped Zimmerman….. He was supposedly just walking back to his father’s girlfriend’s house (where he had been staying for a few days since he was on suspension from his school) from a trip to the store and it was raining (I never heard how hard) but instead of walking on the sidewalk to get home as quickly as possible he was lurking around right up next to the houses. Does this make perfect sense to you? Most houses have plantings under the small roof overhangs so that would not be a good or wise place to seek shelter from a pouring rain, much less a lighter rain. Why would he be moseying around right up next to the houses? What would you think if you saw some young man in a hoody walking around right up next to your house?……
Your time would be better spent in attempting to turn young black men from their criminal ways. If they were not doing most of the crime, they would not be perceived as they are. Black people have to make the change happen, white people cannot make it happen. If you black people would start teaching your children to go to school to learn and to obey authority and obey the law, then your children would grow up to be successful and productive citizens instead of angry malcontents bent on destruction. Some moral training about marriage would change a lot of things. Instead of blaming everybody else, you need to look at what you and your community are doing.”

FROM RANDY- “Have things changed in 40 years? How long can you blame “the system”? ….Why don’t you write a story about my experiences as a white guy viewing all this [community violence] – what am I supposed to think? Where is Bill Cosby on Treyvon when you need him? We certainly don’t need articles full of half-truths designed to incite people; only more will be hurt by that.”

FROM JACOB- “Ms. Jackson -Did you know you are a racist? Reading those words were unpleasant, weren’t they? In fact, just writing those words was unpleasant for me also. But from the definition of racism, if you are judging a man without knowing his mind and heart and his exact actions but are doing so based upon his race or your preconceived idea of that race, then you are a racist. And you seem to have no problem doing that to Mr. Zimmerman….
I hope you will choose to talk again to your son but this time diffuse his fears rather than create them, as so many, many people in this country, white and black, have chosen to do to their children regarding this incident. Give him the race-neutral parenting advice about the consequences of actions, and warn him that to develop a mindset that sees, for whatever reason, violence as one’s right, will only beget more violence.

….I do not agree with you that racism is the huge problem in America that you believe it is. And I do not think that your generation will ever believe that racism is not a huge problem. Nor do I believe that all the various historical remnants of slavery are still as potent today as you would wish to probably point to. And if you continue to fill your children’s minds with the kind of speech you quoted in your article, then their generation will never be free of the psychological bondage of racism either. Please spare my time and yours. I’ve read your opinion and I know what you believe and I have pondered it enough to answer it. I am simply telling you now what I believe and I hope you will ponder it. No further discussion is necessary [also known as, ‘The white man has spoken, be a good n***er and shut up about it].

My general response to all is below:

“Teenage misbehavior isn’t always a precursor to adult criminal activity. And if Zimmerman’s ADULT CRIMINAL RECORD and HISTORY OF VIOLENCE wasn’t germane to the court proceedings, then neither would Trayvon’s. What does what he did in his personal time have to do with an adult man picking a fight with him and murdering him with a gun? White teens get much more largesse for worse offenses than black teens do for less. Check the numbers for yourself.
And since this was the year 2012 and there was no martial law curfew in place demanding otherwise, Trayvon was an American citizen who had every right to be there and to reach his destination however he chose to. It was not 11pm or 2 am, it was early evening.

I would not approach a ‘LURKING’ suspicious figure, I would call the police and let them do their job. And about the person not having the authority to make Zimmerman not follow the teen, Zimmerman was NOT law enforcement himself and didn’t have the authority to approach Trayvon about a THING. Please tell me how someone is mandated to wear a certain item of clothing (or not) or walk at a certain speed or behave in a certain manner when they are NOT on house arrest and minding their own business. He may have been unhurried because he wanted to talk longer to his girlfriend or any other reason, that’s what teenagers do (you must not know any or don’t remember your own teen years clearly). And anyone so scared for their lives would do what other people with common sense do—RETREAT.

Just as whites don’t own a patent on good behavior and what’s considered just and moral in the world, Blacks aren’t responsible for the majority of crimes or other ills plaguing society. There are good and bad individuals in every group, yours included, and when you become elected as a moral authority of what WE should do, let me know. But from the your use of the words ‘you people,’ as well as the patronizing, insulting, assumption and stereotype-filled diatribe that you wrote, you and others like you are actually more about perpetuating the underlying problem—-systemic, institutionalized and generational racism—-than working toward a true solution.

By the way, History 101 would be a good way for you to examine, throughout the course of human events, which race of people has perpetuated the most territorial and religious wars, the most thievery, the most wholesale exploitation of others (rape, slavery, natural resources) and is responsible for the most oppression and annihilation of native peoples (via outright extermination, disease, etc.). Let me give you a hint—-it ISN’T African-Americans. Stop mistaking the symptoms for the causes and take a closer look at who’s needing to look at who.”